Journal profile · Multiple
Sustainability-Science Practice and Policy
ISSN 1548-7733 · Taylor & Francis Group · United Kingdom
Sustainability-Science Practice and Policy: CAS Zone 2 · Environmental Science & Ecology (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 4.9 (journal website); JCR Q2 (journal website); fully open access; APC about USD 1,250; median 284 days to acceptance (96 articles, last 24 months); acceptance rate 13% (journal website); 61 articles in 2025; indexed in ESCI and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Sustainability-Science Practice and Policy is published by Taylor & Francis Group and is in Zone 2 of Environmental Science & Ecology in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Sustainability and Climate Change Governance, Environmental Education and Sustainability and Environmental Sustainability in Business, together about 31.2% of its articles. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
Sustainability: Science, Practice and Policy is an open access journal that publishes research about environmental challenges and sustainability transformations of societal systems. Papers published in SSPP recognize that global climate change and other socio-environmental challenges require system-scale reinvention to ensure universally sufficient availability of energy, mobility, housing, and food. This undertaking calls for the development of new production methods, business models, distributional logistics, consumer routines, and lifestyles. The journal encourages contributions that support these objectives while simultaneously striving to enhance global justice, to reduce unequal access to resources, and to enable all people on the planet to lead flourishing lives. The aim is to formulate novel scientific and political perspectives and to foster transdisciplinary engagement and associated forms of social change involving researchers, policy makers, civic entrepreneurs, and others. Themes/challenges that we encourage authors to address include: Evaluations of social experimentation to identify pathways for sustainability transformations of large-scale systems based on cooperativism, mutuality, interdependence, and solidarity. Speculative considerations of the future of work, consumption, leisure, housing, and mobility that highlight emerging demonstrations of, and accelerate transitions toward, more sustainable lifestyles. Scenario exercises that envisage alternative modes of social organization and anticipate ecologically secure and globally equitable futures. Analyses premised on post-growth economics, alternative indicators of individual and societal well-being, and inclusive and sufficient prosperity. Contributions should: Open up original theoretical and empirical lines of inquiry on initiatives to activate and accelerate sustainable system innovations. Demonstrate socially affirming and ecologically beneficial outcomes that empower individuals and organizations and facilitate social learning. Peer Review All submitted manuscripts are subject to initial appraisal by the Editor, and, if found suitable for further consideration, to peer review by independent, anonymous expert referees. The journal operates a double anonymized peer review policy. Manuscript Types Considered Research articles Brief reports Reviews Short or rapid communications
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): Multiple
Editor-in-chief Maurie J. CohenPublisher website
Editorial board by country: none in mainland China; most named United Kingdom 2, United States 1 (3 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Sustainability and Climate Change GovernanceEnvironmental Science14.5%
- Environmental Education and SustainabilityEnvironmental Science9.8%
- Environmental Sustainability in BusinessBusiness, Management and Accounting6.9%
- Sustainable Development and Environmental PolicyEnvironmental Science5.9%
- Urban Transport and AccessibilitySocial Sciences4.7%
- Energy, Environment, and Transportation PoliciesEnergy4.2%
- Sustainable Supply Chain ManagementBusiness, Management and Accounting4.1%
- Organic Food and AgricultureAgricultural and Biological Sciences3.8%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Environmental Science & Ecology Zone 2
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Environmental Science & Ecology | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Environmental Studies | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Green & Sustainable Science & Technology | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Environmental Science & Ecology Zone 2
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Environmental Science & Ecology | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Green & Sustainable Science & Technology | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Environmental Studies | Zone 2 |
Top journal: noReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Not covered
Not covered by this edition.
JCR / CiteScore quartiles on the journal's website
- JCR Q2 · best quartile · 2025
- CiteScore Q1 · 2025
Publisher-reported: JCR figures are Clarivate's and CiteScore figures Scopus's to confirm; both are a different system from the CAS zones.Publisher website
Database indexing
ESCIScopusDOAJLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
Indexing the journal's website claims
OCLC, CABI, EBSCOhost, OCLC: Sociological Abstracts (Online)Publisher website
As the journal's website lists them, not checked against each database; for Web of Science editions the records above apply.
Editions, and major and minor categories, are shown separately and never merged into one zone; check which edition your institution uses before you submit or report.
Metrics
Impact metrics and publication volume
Impact
- Impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 4.9Publisher website ·
- 5-year impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 5.9Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 9.2LetPub ·
- CiteScore (publisher) 2025
- 9.2Publisher website ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 1.38LetPub ·
- SJR (publisher) 2025
- 1.38Publisher website ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 1.9LetPub ·
- SNIP (publisher) 2025
- 1.9Publisher website ·
- h-index
- 60OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 275OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 3.39OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 6.1%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 100%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 55LetPub ·
- Downloads per year (publisher)
- 496,000Publisher website ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 546 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 53 | 53 | 14 |
| 2025 | 61 | 61 | 136 |
| 2024 | 49 | 49 | 402 |
| 2023 | 36 | 36 | 604 |
| 2022 | 60 | 60 | 1,444 |
| 2021 | 32 | 32 | 1,040 |
Sources count differently and were observed at different times, so each source's own value is kept; "publisher" marks figures from the journal's website.
Review & acceptance
Review time and acceptance
Review time from article dates manuscript dates registered with Crossref · to
284 daysMedian, submission to acceptance · P25–P75 222 days – 363 days
- Acceptance to online
- median 25 days (98 articles)
- Submission to online
- median 313 days
- Sample
- 96 articles with submission and acceptance dates (124 in the window); the latest was accepted on
Only articles that were accepted and published are counted, not the time spent on rejected manuscripts, so this usually runs longer than a publisher's "time to first decision".
Other sources
- Average review time (community reports)
- about 27 weeksLetPub ·
- Acceptance rate (publisher)
- 13%Publisher website ·
- Submission to first decision
- 11 daysPublisher website ·
- First decision after review
- 74 daysPublisher website ·
- Acceptance to publication
- 22 daysPublisher website ·
- Submission to publication (journal-reported)
- about 27 weeksDOAJ ·
- Peer review
- Single anonymous peer reviewDOAJ
Community reports come from authors' own submissions (confidence 0.5) and are not a promise from the journal; for publisher figures, the journal's own definitions apply.
Fees & open access
APC and open-access policy
Fully open accessDOAJ
Every article is open access; authors usually pay an article processing charge (APC).
| Source | APC | Fee waiver | License | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DOAJ | USD 1,250 / GBP 1,000 / EUR 1,200 / AUD 1,740 | Yes | CC BY, CC BY-NC | |
| OpenAlex | GBP 635 | — | — | |
| LetPub | USD 925 / GBP 740 | Yes | — | |
| Publisher website | Yes, amount not published | — | — |
The journal's website is authoritative for fees; sources were observed at different times and each keeps its own value, without averaging.
Submission
Article types and submission policies (journal website)
Article types accepted8
- brief reportResearch articles Brief reports Reviews Short or rapid communicationsLength not stated
- brief reportsBrief reportsLength not stated
- rapid communicationResearch articles Brief reports Reviews Short or rapid communicationsLength not stated
- research articleResearch articles Brief reports Reviews Short or rapid communicationsLength not stated
- research articlesResearch articlesLength not stated
- reviewResearch articles Brief reports Reviews Short or rapid communicationsLength not stated
- reviewsReviewsLength not stated
- short or rapid communicationsShort or rapid communicationsLength not stated
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteOpen access, Peer review
- Open access Open access
Sustainability: Science, Practice and Policy is an open access journal and only publishes open access articles. Publishing open access means that your article will be free to access online immediately on publication, increasing the visibility, readership, and impact of your research. Why choose open access? Increase the discoverability and readership of your article Make an impact and reach new re…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Peer review Peer Review
Double anonymized peer review Model summary
All submitted manuscripts are subject to initial appraisal by the Editor, and, if found suitable for further consideration, to peer review by independent, anonymous expert referees. The journal operates a double anonymized peer review policy.
Source ↗Publisher website ·
Excerpts are quoted from the journal's website; "model summary" lines are written by Workers AI and checked against the text. The journal's website is authoritative.
Profile
Publication details and official links
- Publisher
- Taylor & Francis Group
- Country or region
- United Kingdom
- Language
- English
- ISSN
- 1548-7733
- Latest issue on the website
- Volume 22, Issue 1 (2026)
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗OpenAlex
- Submission system ↗Publisher website
- Author guidelines ↗LetPub
- Aims & Scope ↗DOAJ
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
- APC information ↗DOAJ
- Fee waivers ↗DOAJ
- Open access statement ↗DOAJ
- License & copyright ↗DOAJ
- Peer review process ↗LetPub
- Editorial board ↗DOAJ
- Plagiarism policy ↗DOAJ
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Sustainability-Science Practice and Policy
What CAS zone is Sustainability-Science Practice and Policy in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Sustainability-Science Practice and Policy is in Zone 2 of Environmental Science & Ecology, and in Zone 3 of the minor category Environmental Studies / Green & Sustainable Science & Technology. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 2 of Environmental Science & Ecology. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of Sustainability-Science Practice and Policy?
The journal's website gives an impact factor of 4.9 (2025); this is the journal's own figure, as LetPub lists none for it; CiteScore 9.2, h-index 60.
How long does peer review take at Sustainability-Science Practice and Policy?
Based on the dates recorded on 96 articles published between October 2024 and October 2026 (the last 24 months), the median time from submission to acceptance is 284 days (interquartile range 222–363 days); authors report an average review time of about 27 weeks; the journal's website gives an acceptance rate of 13%. Article statistics cover accepted papers only, publisher figures follow the journal's own definitions, and community reports come from authors' own submissions; none is a promise from the journal.
What JCR quartile is Sustainability-Science Practice and Policy in?
The journal's website gives JCR Q2 (best quartile). JCR quartiles are Clarivate's to confirm and a different system from the CAS zones; in the CAS ranking the journal is in Zone 2 of Environmental Science & Ecology.
Where are the editorial board members of Sustainability-Science Practice and Policy based?
Of the 3 board members whose country the journal's board page names, none are in mainland China; the countries named most often are United Kingdom (2) and United States (1). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index Sustainability-Science Practice and Policy?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Sustainability-Science Practice and Policy is indexed in ESCI, Scopus and DOAJ.
Is Sustainability-Science Practice and Policy open access, and what is the APC?
Sustainability-Science Practice and Policy is a fully open-access journal. APC about USD 1,250.
Sources and updates
The facts on this page come from LetPub, Publisher website, OpenAlex, DOAJ; every figure is tagged with its source and the date it was observed, and conflicting values are kept per source. LetPub source page: view ↗ (archived 2026-08-25). Last updated: .